Everyone 6 months of
age and older should get vaccinated
against the flu as soon as the 2014-2015
season vaccine is available. It is
especially important for certain people
to get vaccinated.
These include:
● People who are at high risk of
developing serious complications like
pneumonia if they get sick with the flu This includes:~ People who have certain medical conditions
including asthma,
diabetes, and chronic lung disease. ~ Pregnant women. ~ People 65 years and older.
● People who live with or care for
others who are high risk of developing
serious complications ~ This includes household contacts and caregivers
of people with
certain medical conditions including
asthma, diabetes, and
chronic lung disease.
● Vaccination is important for health
care workers, and other people
who live
with or care for high risk people to
keep from spreading flu
to high risk
people.
● Children younger than 6 months are at
high risk of serious flu illness,
but
are too young to be vaccinated. People
who care for them should
be vaccinated
instead.

The
vaccine is NOT recommended for the
following people:

● Children younger than
6 months
● People who have had Guillain-Barré
syndrome (GBS)
within 6 weeks of getting a flu vaccine
● People who have a severe allergy to
chicken eggs
or who are allergic to any of the nasal spray vaccine components.

What strains does the
vaccine protect against this year?

All of the 2014-2015 influenza
vaccine is made to protect against the
following three viruses:

an A/California/7/2009
(H1N1)pdm09-like virus

an A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)-like
virus

a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like
virus.

Some of the 2014-2015 flu vaccine
also protects against an additional B
virus (B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus).

Flu vaccines are
designed to protect against flu viruses
that experts predict will be the most
common during the upcoming season. Three
kinds of flu viruses commonly circulate
among people today: Influenza A (H1N1)
viruses, influenza A (H3N2) viruses, and
influenza B viruses. Each year, one or
two flu viruses of each kind are used to
produce the seasonal influenza vaccine.

All of the
2014-2015 influenza vaccine is made to
protect against the following three
viruses:
• an A/California/7/2009
(H1N1)pdm09-like virus
• an A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)-like
virus
• a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like
virus.

Some of the 2014-2015 flu vaccine also
protects against an additional B virus
(B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus).

Vaccines that give protection against
three viruses are called trivalent
vaccines. Vaccines that give protection
against four viruses are called
quadrivalent vaccines.